wow They had China back then..They had olympics as well?
During the Chinese campaign of late 657, the Tang greatly expanded their territory. But generally, Turks, Tibetans and Tang Dynasty; struggled to control Central Asia until the 10th century when this dynasty collapsed.
After the Göktürk Khanate was divided into two parts as western and eastern; Göktürk Civil War took place in the country. The Western Turks, allied with the Byzantine Empire. While the territory of the Eastern Göktürk Khaganate, which is considered the main administrative part of the country, was shrinking, the Western Göktürk Khaganate began to expand its territory. Such a dynamic geopolitics was in the background in these years.
The background of the events is also full of intrigue. Li Shimin's predecessor, Emperor Gaozu, condoned the murder of Western Göktürk khan Arslan Taman Kagan by the Eastern Göktürks on November 2, 619. Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) aimed to fend off the threats of the Turks by making the eastern and western Göktürks fight each other. This has become the official ideology of China. In 641, In the civil war between the Western and Eastern Göktürks; Taizong supported Isbara Yabgu Kagan, the leader of the Western Turks. The Eastern Turk khan, Yukuk Kagan, occupied the oasis cities in the west that belonged to Isbara Yabgu, Yukuk assassinated his rivals in the Western Gokturks, than the eastern and western wings of the country were united.
In the years following the merger, Yukuk; It has become a great threat to China; China began to seize trade cities. In 642, Taizong once again supported a revolt against Yukuk's rule. Opposition Western Turks asked for help from Tang dynasty for Ériş Kül Kağan to ascend to the throne against Yukuk. The opposition, which received the support of China, succeeded in dethroning Yukuk and put Eriş on the throne. Yukuk then left the country and settled in Kunduz, which is within the borders of today's Afghanistan.
After this event, between the Tang and the Western Turks; Negotiations have started on the sovereignty of the 5 oasis states in the Tarim Basin, which is important for the Silk Road dominance. Eris wanted to establish strong ties with the Tang and get along with China. Therefore, he married the Tang princess. Since the management of the oasis states was under the Turkish beys; Whatever the outcome of Eris' negotiations with China; He could not find the power to transfer these statelets, which he could not be effective in the Eriş administration, to Tang. After the negotiations stalled, China decided to start organizing expeditions to the Tarim Basin again.
Before the Tang Dynasty decided on the expedition(Western Tujue in Chinese sources); Taking advantage of the competition between the Eastern and Western Göktürk states; seriously weakened the power of these two states. Emperor Taizong sent the Chinese army to the lands on the western flank of the Göktürks, to Karahoca in 640, Karaşehir in 644 and Kuçar in 648.
Campaigns against the Western Turks continued during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. After Gen, the khanate was completely annexed by the Tang. Su Dingfang defeated Il-Kullig Ishbara Khagan in 657. The Western Turks tried to seize the Tarim Basin from 670 to 677. however, these attempts were repelled by the Tang. In 712, the Second Eastern Turkic Khanate defeated the Western Turks and took this khanate under its own control.
In terms of the socio-cultural consequences of the events, The Tang Dynasty aimed to spread Chinese culture in the areas it controlled. However, in the regions where Turkish soldiers working for the Tang were located, Turkish influence became dominant. For this reason, the migration of Turkish tribes to the regions controlled by Turkish soldiers accelerated; The Indo-European peoples living in these regions became Turkified by melting into Turkish culture.
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